0
0
Last Fall I met Steve Forbes, the Wake Forest basketball coach. He told me the team would be “a lot better” than his first season as coach.
His prediction came true. The team’s record ended up much better than his first year.
About five weeks ago bracketologists had the Demon Deacons projected to be an eight seed in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. Forbes said his team could win the ACC Tournament and some games in March Madness. I got on board with his optimism.
Then the Deacons played themselves out of the field of 68 with several losses including one unexpected drubbing in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
The story sunk into deeper sadness. The team that earlier in the season had shocked the world with success got ousted early from the NIT tournament.
In the ensuing weeks, the team has come apart. Several star players have either entered the NBA draft or transfer portal.
Why are so many leaving? Is it because of opportunities to make millions in the NBA, or they don’t want to play another year for Forbes at Wake Forest? Or they want more playing time? Some of all of this, probably.
Whatever the reasons, I can’t tell what’s going on with this basketball program, or college basketball overall, from a long-term, strategic perspective. It looks like Forbes will have to pull in several other good players from the transfer portal to even come close to the team he fielded this season. Is that possible?
Maybe. He’s done it once. But the more sobering question is what if Forbes does get another group of good players through the portal and they, too, stay one year before leaving the team? He would be creating another version of a one-and-done college basketball team.
Fans won’t get to know those players after one year because they’ll be gone. There won’t be much continuity where we learn and grow and cheer for the same guys for four years. That’s what college basketball used to be – and what made it great. But it’s no longer that.
Going forward, our Wake Forest basketball team will be like a one-year all-star team of random guys from here and there. Being a college fan is like speed dating: quick and superficial, the antithesis of everlasting.
Should we care about this new trend?
I think so. I liked rooting for Randolph Childress for four years. It was inspiring to watch him improve from his freshman to senior year. I got to know him better by watching him play throughout his career.
I enjoyed watching Jake LaRavia play this year. But he’s entering the NBA draft. He may be able to come back and play for Wake depending on how high he’s projected to be chosen in the draft.
His return would be nice but tainted. He’s already shown us he’s got one foot out the door of the Wake Forest program. We know where Jake’s heart is, and it’s not really playing in a Wake Forest uniform if he gets chosen high in the draft.
This brings us to the larger issue: A growing lack of loyalty throughout the sports business and business in general. Like never before, players are less loyal to the teams they play for. They’re opting for their personal gain first above the program and university.
You see this all over the business world. Companies have become less loyal to employees and, in turn, employees are less committed to companies.
This is what The Great Resignation is all about. Workers in huge numbers quitting their jobs and taking offers from other companies that wave more money at them.
Loyalty is no longer much of a factor in these decisions. We’re all out for ourselves because we have to be because companies, college basketball coaches, and others are often after gain for themselves more than their workers or players.
We live in a world where trust is eroding between workers and employees, coaches and players. It’s sad because when more people don’t trust each other they don’t stay committed to each other. They’re jumping from opportunity to opportunity with the main goal of doing what’s best for themselves financially or egotistically with less regard than ever for the interpersonal relationships at work or on a college basketball team. The whole concept of teams is less important to people.
This leaves the college basketball fan feeling that the team he roots for, the alma mater, isn’t really a bunch of guys committed to grow, learn, and play together well for four years. Becoming a real team over a sustained period takes a back seat to chasing an NBA contract or a better chance to start for another college team.
It’s a shoot-and-run situation. We as fans get that cheap and brief thrill. Then it ends. We feel abandoned by the players we root for because their priorities are themselves and not us.
Granted, players have to take care of themselves and don’t owe the fans any loyalty to the team or program. But that doesn’t feel good. It’s an unfulfilling, shallow relationship. And shallow relationships aren’t valuable. They don’t lift our spirits.
We’re left with something less stimulating and enjoyable than we had before. The loyalty of fans to their college basketball teams will drop as time passes. We won’t care as much whether they win or lose. Our support for the program will wane.
The Great Resignation will march on full throttle. We’ll be less connected. Relationships will be less rich and lasting. Our lives will be, as fans of our college teams, less fulfilling, not as deep nor meaningful.
In the game of life, that’s a loss for all of us.
Author Profile
-
Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
Sammy Sportface Has a Vision -- Check It Out
Sammy Sportface -- The Baby Boomer Brotherhood Blog -- Facebook Page
Latest entries
BonusApril 20, 2024A Horrible Life Becomes Great
BonusApril 15, 2024Dancing in the Meadowlands – Then Darting Away
BonusApril 13, 2024Back in Bernardsville: You Can Go Home Again
BonusApril 12, 2024Jersey – His Hometown From A Lifetime Ago